DA back on its undemocratic and illiberal tricks in Knysna Municipality

3 October 2019

The ANC notes with disgust the DA's crass and crude behavior in the Knysna Municipality, where they want to remove a Mayor from his position, not through a vote of confidence in Council, but through a vote of confidence in their own DA Caucus. 

The DA has clearly learnt nothing from their costly and ill advised crusade against Patricia De Lille. If they continue to embark on this self mutilating exercise, the results on their political capital and voter confidence will be as costly as their battle with De Lille. 

The ANC would like to remind the DA of the municipal and IEC processes.The Mayor is elected by a full council to serve the entire community of Knysna, not to service DA constituencies. It is the entire council that can remove the Mayor and not a group of disgruntled DA Councillors meeting in street corners and hideouts.

We condemn this machination as it undermines the authority of Council and compromises the respectability of the municipality in the eyes of the public. Most importantly, we would like to remind the DA that a political party cannot on its own, ask the IEC to summarily remove a Councillor from the IEC list, unless the Councillor/Mayor resigns, dies, or went through a formal and recognizable disciplinary process. There is no other way that a Councillor can be removed from the IEC roll, and most certainly not on the back of a DA Caucus vote of no confidence. 

The Councillors might have been put on the IEC list through the party ticket but once they are officially registered, they are now Councillors of the municipality in their own right and must be accorded the dignity and rights bestowed by the countries constitution, not the DA constitution.

We call on the DA to follow due process and protect the integrity of Council and municipality systems, it's functionality and ability to render services without disturbances. 

Issued by Major Sokopo, Regional Secretary, ANC Southern Cape, 3 October 2019